Funny, informative, quirky and very moving.
STAGE TALK MAGAZINE *****A show packed with love, hope and laughter...
WESTON, WORLE & SOMERSET MERCURYLaugh-out-loud funny and heart-warming. I don't think there was a dry eye in the house, and yet everyone left smiling! A must-see.
SALISBURY JOURNALA perfect example of every element of a production working in harmony.
EXEUNTQuite simply, one of the most beautiful, uplifting, moving and joyful pieces of theatre I have ever seen.
WESTERN-SUPER-MUMThe power of this show cannot be overstated...
BROADWAYWORLD *****

SEEING THE LIGHTS

Well-observed comedy…Murray is emerging as one of the country’s most compassionate dramatists.
THE GUARDIAN ****. Read the full reviewhere. Emotionally engaging… witty… astute… sharp dialogue.
THE OBSERVER **** Read the full reviewhere. A play with burning relevance for our times – and a surprising number of laughs.
THE STAGE

MONDAY'S CHILD

Beautiful, uplifting and very, very tender.
THE INDEPENDENT ****An exquisite exploration of friendship, play and memory across the generations.
WHAT'S ON STAGE *****Unforgettable. It makes everyday circumstances alive and vital and very personal.
THE STAGEPure magic.
KILKENNY REPORTER
Links to all the reviews can be found here.

MISSING IN ACTION

Powerful… Emotional… Gritty, hard-hitting drama… Compelling viewing.
BRITISH THEATRE GUIDE. Full review here.Thought-provoking… Explores one of modern society’s great taboos.
THE STAGE. Full review here.

ENTERTAINING ANGELS

Authentic… A meticulously researched and insightful play. I hope it gets a very wide hearing.
THE STAGE. Full review here. A fantastic piece of theatre… engaging, amusing, enlightening & interesting.
LEFTLION MAGAZINEExtraordinarily perceptive… Honest and devastatingly accurate… A tender, affectionate and utimately hopeful, as well as sometimes angry, play.
THE CHURCH TIMES
HARE & TORTOISE

An intimate, enchanting and colourful work that will truly delight children over 3 and big kids like myself. The dialogue is playful, meaningful and strikes just the right balance for the young audience.
THE PUBLIC REVIEWSYoung audiences deserve the very best and here they get it.
THE STAGE**** WHATSONSTAGE.COMA beautifully crafted piece.
LYN GARDNER, THE GUARDIAN

ROUND THE TWIST

Brendan Murray's delightful comedy provides an entertaining alternative to more traditional Christmas fare and a welcome break from national doom and gloom.
THE STAGEDear Santa, for Christmas I want every festive show to be this good.
EVENING STARA witty, pretty seasonal entertainment.
PUBLIC REVIEW

THE DELICIOUS REVENGE OF PRINCESS RUBYSLIPPERS

A thoughtful play, which neither patronises nor
intellectualises.
THE STAGEA charming adventure into the imaginative world
of children.
OXFORD TIMESWitty, deft and perceptive.
REVIEWS GATE

HOW HIGH IS UP?

Suffused with poetry, wit, and a wonderful wisdom.
IRISH TIMESComforting
and profound, the language beautiful.
TIME OUTThemes of death, memory and change are handled
with sensitive clarity and wit in Murray's beautifully written script.
DUBLIN SUNDAY TRIBUNE

THE FALLING SKY

Tender and ultimately shocking, the conflicts are
subtle and the characters, never mere mouthpieces, all have the ring
of truth about them.
THE STAGE A play that captures the essence of rural life
as it is lived today. These country folk are a million miles away from
the stereotypes found in The Archers, and the story is anything but
every-day.
OXFORD TIMES

THE BIG MAGIC

An exquisitely surreal experience.
TIME OUTIf proof were needed of what
a jewel Polka Theatre is then it can be found in Brendan Murray's
The Big Magic.
THE STAGE Asks big questions that apply to a child's everyday
life and the future of the world.
REVIEWS GATE

BIG BABY

Imaginative and often surreal.
MANCHESTER EVENING NEWSA deeply polemical
play containing some of the blackest comedy you will ever see.
OXFORD TIMESA bewitching mixture of parable, dumb-show and song-and-dance, taking
on half a dozen huge ideas. *****
THE TIMESDisturbingly compelling...unflinchingly honest.
GLASGOW HERALDA grand metaphor about modernity, industrialisation
and capitalism...chillingly forceful and poetic.
THE SCOTSMAN

UNDER THE BED

This quirky show, with its tangential departures
into lunacy, has a sweet and sensible resolution with a disarming feel-good
factor.
TIME OUT A fresh, nicely-pitched show that deals quite
subtly with children's fears large and small.
FINANCIAL TIMES

MANSFIELD PARK & RIDE

Brendan Murray doesn't miss a trick.
THE STAGE ONLINEA wittily elegant piece showing
great appreciation for the language of Austen: a real Christmas cracker.
EAST ANGLIAN DAILY TIMES

Press response to plays I've directed

UP DOWN MAN

Funny, informative, quirky and very moving.STAGE TALK MAGAZINE *****A show packed with love, hope and laughter...WESTON, WORLE & SOMERSET MERCURYLaugh-out-loud funny and heart-warming. I don't think there was a dry eye in the house, and yet everyone left smiling! A must-see.SALISBURY JOURNALA perfect example of every element of a production working in harmony.EXEUNTQuite simply, one of the most beautiful, uplifting, moving and joyful pieces of theatre I have ever seen.WESTERN-SUPER-MUMThe power of this show cannot be overstated...BROADWAYWORLD *****

THE NUTCRACKER & THE MOUSE KING by Jane Buckler

The tale is told with real sensitivity: ideal for
all generations.
OXFORD TIMESFull of atmosphere and mystery.
BBC RADIO OXFORDComplex and striking
in its visual staging.
REVIEWS GATE

THE FIREBIRD by Jane Buckler

An imaginative staging which
moves the plot along while sharing the hopes, fears and dreams of the
characters.
OXFORD TIMESA timeless story brought to
new audiences with the subtlety and care for details it deserves.
THE STAGE

The audience who ranged from babes-in-arms to
senior citizens, all seemed entranced.
OXFORD TIMES

PEOPLE ARE LIVING THERE by Athol Fugard

A knock-out.
OXFORD TIMES

AIN'T MISBEHAVIN' – THE FATS WALLER MUSICAL SHOW

The comical numbers sparkle with razor-sharp rhymes and slapstick
choreography.
Impeccably sung in five-part harmony.
THE STAGEThis bold new production
is a polished and exciting show that will delight all who come out to
see it.
OXFORD TIMES